Quite a lot going on this Bank Holiday – not only were there a load of races going on, but
News! Paul Skuse has a phone, but no idea how to use the camera. We all wish him the best of luck in working it out. Weekly updates!
also people heading out on the 3 trig challenge, parkrunners, moochers and general bog bashers. The weather held fine, which was astonishing in its own right, the summer legs are certainly coming out to play!
3 Forts Marathon
Down south there was the 3 forts marathon, in which our London contingent, Martin Schmidt ran. As tends to be the case with marathons these days, it was not actually a 26.2 mile course – oh no, this one was 27.2 with an astonishing 1045m of climb. And this is South of London. How did they manage to find that much ascent?! I have no idea. Martin probably does though, as he finished 128th of 351 finishers in a rather admirable time of 4:32:05.
Fellsman
Once more unto the breach dear friends! called the irrepressible Nick Ham as he ran through his 10th Fellsman. In his own words…Conditions were very dry this year as expected, but the the strong cold wind that got up on Saturday evening and overnight came as a bit of a surprise.
It was only the second time I’ve managed to get to Cray before grouping. What luxury to be able to see all the way to Grey Horse on Gilbert Lane.
Although not at 2009’s fitness level (when I got my PB of 17:10), I was going like a train after Fleet Moss – so much faster than last year. A comfortable sub-19 finish was on the cards. However, suffering group members reigned that back to 19:24. They did extremely well to achieve that under the circumstances, so a very well done to the Magnificent 7, and thanks for the excellent group dynamic. We stuck together loyally, just like it should be.
I achieved my ultimate aim of getting a sub-20 finish, and 19:24 was 5th fastest out of 10 completions. I call that a result. The bonus is not feeling trashed thanks to the slower pace over the last 15 miles.
3 Peaks
Matt Huxford was off up to Horton-in-Ribblesdale this year for the Yorkshire 3 Peaks.
The Hux, on his way towards the finish
Underfoot was mostly dry, and not too soggy, meaning that some fast times were on the cards for the leaders. Matt, not to be outdone, took it easy at the beginning, easing up Pen y Ghent at a steady pace before gradually piling on the speed throughout the rest of the race. He came in a highly respectable 98th in 3:43 altogether – his AL legs are certainly getting stronger as the year progresses.
Cake race
Despite a flurry of activity on the facebook page in the days leading up to it – (perhaps with the main draw being the cake), there were only 2 Glossopdalers at the Cake race over in Diggle last week. Pete Nicholson put out a superb show of strength and speed, blasting around the course to come in 18th in 1:15:17. The sooner you get around the greater the choice of cake…. one wonders if this was the driving force behind his form. Sikobe was the other Glossopdaler, coming in 186th in 1:44:06, fighting off considerable competition from the likes of Saddleworth for the rights to a delightful Lemon Drizzle cake at the end.
Junior Stride Through the Woods
We had a couple of the dedicated Yoofs heading around the Junior Stride through the
Adam Crompton and his winning ways
Woods last week, coming in 8th, in a serious battle that appears to have gone right to the wire – Caitlin Swan finished with a flourish in 4:59.5 and Adam Crompton, in a similar sprint finish, picked up some well deserved prize money for being 1st 9/10 boy in 5:44.4,
Stride Through the Woods
Lawrence Fennelly, in his warm up to the weekends Parkrun appeared to pick up first MV55 at Stride through the Woods – 37th overally, he finished in 23:40.2 A mere 59 seconds later, in 49th, Tony Hillier dashed across the line, feeling like it had been a bit more effort than a couple of years ago. Still, his 24:39.0 netted him a rather handsom 1st MV 65. Within a couple of minutes, Charmayne Brierley was first GDH female home in 79th, and 27:53.8, brilliantly well done!
Big Rock 10K
Laurie Barlow was off at the Big Rock 10k this weekend. Whether that refers to a MASSIVE stick of rock which the finishers all get a bit of, or whether it is because there is a Rock nearby which is unusual in it’s size, I have no idea. Speculation is best left to others, perhaps. Anyhow, Laurie ran hard, and gave her all, finishing with a chip time of 1:00:13. I have absolutely no doubt that she started, ran and finished with a massive grin as well. I suspect, but have no proof, that this might have been a PB as well.
Park run
Ah yes, the dry spell continues, which means the ground has firmed up a bit around the Glossop parkrun course, meaning a few more PB’s – amongst them this week were Paul “I never normally run less than 50 miles” Skuse, Lawrence “Stride through the woods was simply a warm up” Fennelly, Esme “Still faster than Mum” Brack, Jeroen “I don’t have a competitive bone in my body, honest, guv” Peters, Liam “every week is a new PB” Amos, and Adam “Dad promised me an increase in pocket money every time I get a PB” Crompton. Nice work, all of you! Full, consolidated parkrun results for the weekend
